Global air travel continues to be disrupted by the Middle East war.
Many European airlines have cut back or suspended their flights to the Gulf and Israel, while some, like KLM and Lufthansa, also announced reductions in their European connections.
Here, Ryanair and Aer Lingus are cutting some of their flights this summer, though both airlines said the changes are not linked to jet fuel shortages.
What are your rights and what happens to the rest of your travel arrangements if flights are cancelled?
What do you get if your flight is cancelled?
If a flight is cancelled, the passenger is entitled to either a full refund or rerouting as close as possible to the original time.
According to the EU-261 directive if the cancellation happens 14 days or less before the flight, the customer is also entitled to compensation, unless the carrier can prove that the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided.
A refund must be processed within seven days, according to EU law.
Compensation, which ranges from €250 to €600 depending on the flight distance, could take much longer to reach your account.
If there is an issue with an airline and you are not getting compensation, the matter should be taken to the Irish Aviation Authority, CEO of the Irish Travel Agents Association Clare Dunne said.
If your return flight is cancelled and you're trying to get back home, she recommends contacting the airline and letting them rebook you, rather than purchase a new flight.
"If you book something and it costs three times what your original flight cost, the airline has no obligation to refund you that money. They only have to refund you the flight that you paid for originally," she explained.
Will you get refunded for the hotel if the flight is cancelled?
This depends on how the trip was booked and insured.
While EU-261 is quite specific when it comes to the flights, it doesn’t cover other travel arrangements, which fall under their individual booking terms.
If the accommodation was booked separately from the flight, then it’s "your own responsibility," says Clare Dunne.
"In these times, make sure you're not booking non-refundable accommodation or check the terms and conditions of the accommodation because the accommodation provider in that case has absolutely no obligation to refund you."
Travel insurance would offer additional support for holidaymakers.
"Typically, a comprehensive travel insurance will cover costs of pre-paid and non-refundable accommodation if your flight is cancelled for reasons outside of your control," insurance expert from Insuremyholiday.ie Deirdre McCarthy said.
Some basic policies may not cover accommodation, she added, so it's important to check the policy documents when received from an insurer.
Insurers won't cover accommodation that is refundable through the hotel and won't pay if you were offered a rebooked flight in a reasonable time frame (for example, on the same day).
Most crucially, the policy must be purchased at the same time as the travel is booked.
"If you wait until you're going to travel - then the war's already broken out, or the strike has happened, or the storm has happened, and then you're not covered," Clare Dunne explained.
Making sure that there is a travel disruption clause in your policy is another key point giving "extra cover when things start to go wrong."
What are the protections if you booked a package?
Packaged holidays are regulated by the EU Package Travel Directive.
It covers pre-arranged package holidays, but also self-customised packages, where the traveller chooses different elements from a single point of sale online or offline.
According to the legislation, the tour operator will rebook your entire holiday or give you a refund "if it can't rebook you to something that you're happy with," Ms Dunne said.
"But in most cases, travel agents try to get their customers on their holiday. Because at the end of the day, that's what people want."
The protections are weaker when it comes to so-called linked travel arrangements, which are not considered a packaged holiday.
The term describes a situation when the traveller books a flight on a website and is then invited to book a hotel on a different website.
In that case, according to the EU directive, they could be covered if the flight is cancelled. But the accommodation must be booked within 24 hours and the whole process must be clearly defined as a linked travel arrangement.
"This doesn’t happen," CEO of travel agent Click&Go Paul Hackett argues.
He adds that airlines generally don't want to be seen as the organiser of your entire travel and offer full protections associated with that, despite featuring hotel and car hire options on their website.
If a traveller did book a hotel after being directed from an airline website, and the flight was cancelled, Mr Hackett recommends contacting the IAA or the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
What about the Middle East travel?
While the Government’s advice is against all non-essential travel to the Middle East, flights are still operating.
If the earlier-booked flight is not cancelled but the passenger doesn’t want to travel to the region anymore, the insurance company won't cover that cancellation, despite the DFA's advisory.
"A full refund will only be due if your air carrier cancels the flight," Paul Hackett explained. "If it does not, then you would be bound by the conditions agreed to at the time of booking. In most cases airlines will be aware of a travel advisory and will offer refunds."
"It’s a really difficult situation for the consumer because it's a grey area," Paul Hackett said.
A passenger heading to the Middle East now and buying their travel arrangements can still get insured, insurance expert Deirdre McCarthy said, but "many key benefits will not apply."
Medical emergencies unrelated to the advisory, lost baggage, travel delay, standard disruption will be covered only if they are not related to the DFA advisory.
